UPDATE: Police ID man found dead

By DAILY NEWS STAFF

Published: Friday, July 5, 2013 at 08:59 AM.

The call originally came in as a subject in the water and Morehead City Fire and EMS assisted by Atlantic Beach Fire and EMS responded for a water rescue attempt. Morehead City Police officers and Dive Team responded for the recovery effort when it was determined that the situation was no longer a water rescue, according to the information.

The investigation is on going in this case.

Chief Wrenn Johnson and Morehead City Police Department send condolences to Johnson's family and friends.

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Morehead City police are investigating a death that occurred on the waterfront as July 4 festivities neared an end.

Morehead City police have released the identity of a man who died during a July 4 incident outside a waterfront bar.

Stephen Ray Johnson, 23, of Dunn died as a result of injuries sustained following an altercation outside of Jack’s waterfront bar around 11 p.m. Thursday, police said.

According to a police department news release, the initial call came in as a subject in the water and Morehead City Fire and Rescue, assisted by Atlantic Beach Fire and EMS, responded for a water rescue. Morehead City police officers and the dive team responded after it was determined that the situation involved the recovery of a body.

Police Chief Wrenn Johnson said the investigation is ongoing and the department is still working to piece together Johnson’s cause of death and motive for the altercation.

She said there is a team of investigators working on the case and they had been interviewing witnesses all day and still had a number of others to talk to.

“People are still calling saying they saw this or that and we’re following up on them. We still have a lot of evidence and information to piece together,” she said.

The incident occurred as the town’s annual Independence Day celebration was coming to a close.

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Updated at 3:23 p.m.

Stephen Ray Johnson, a 23-year-old male from Dunn, died as a result of injuries sustained following an altercation outside of Jacks waterfront bar in Morehead City on Thursday, around 11 p.m., according to information from Morehead City Police.

The call originally came in as a subject in the water and Morehead City Fire and EMS assisted by Atlantic Beach Fire and EMS responded for a water rescue attempt. Morehead City Police officers and Dive Team responded for the recovery effort when it was determined that the situation was no longer a water rescue, according to the information.

The investigation is on going in this case.

Chief Wrenn Johnson and Morehead City Police Department send condolences to Johnson's family and friends.

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Morehead City police are investigating a death that occurred on the waterfront as July 4 festivities neared an end.

Police Chief Wrenn Johnson said Friday morning that there is an open investigation into the death of a male victim that is related to an incident that occurred about 11 p.m. at Jack’s Waterfront Bar.

Johnson said they are working to contact the family before releasing the name of the victim.

She said they expect to release additional information later this morning.